App Store Update: April 9

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All of today's important App Store launches, price drops, and updates – in one place.

By Justin Davis

Every day hundreds of new apps make their debut on the App Store, and hundreds more are updated or reduced in price. We have sifted through the noise and highlighted those select few that might be worth your attention.

Game Debuts

Epic Astro Story – ($3.99) Kairosoft is back! Epic Astro Story tasks players with developing a human colony on another planet. Send groups on away missions, improve relations with neighboring planets and more.

Nightfall – ($4.99) Playdek's second board game port is now available on iOS. Nightfall is a deck building game with a post-apocalyptic horror theme.

Rogue Ninja – ($0.99) Rogue ninja is a roguelike (dungeon crawler) with all the features gamers expect – random dungeons, plenty of loot and enemies, etc. It features a great 8-bit art style.

Captain Nova – ($0.99) We haven't had a chance to dive into this retro platformer yet, but it is only a matter of time. We're defenseless against its old school charm.

Ordinarium – ($0.99) Ordinarium takes simple "eat or be eaten" food chain gameplay, and wraps it up in a gorgeous and distinctive art style.

Miku Flick – ($13.99) Japanese Digital Pop Star Hatsune Miku arrives on the App Store, courtesy of Sega. Miku Flick is a rhythm game allowing gamers to "flick" their way through 12 songs, matching their touch-screen timing with the song's lyrics.

Price Drops

Bug Panic – ($0.99) Cave's unique bullet hell shooter Bug Panic might have been a little pricey at $4.99, but it's a great deal at $0.99. Jump on this sale while it lasts!

Battleloot Adventure – (Free) This lengthy and full-featured RPG can now be downloaded and played free-of-charge for a limited time.

Neon Zone – (Free) This unique puzzler is available for free for a limited time. Walls become floors as you tilt your phone. Players must plan ahead and tilt to collect every sphere in each stage. Clever.

Shine Runner – ($0.99) This redneck fan boat racer can be nabbed for just $0.99 for a limited time. It is ridiculous, in the best possible way.

Minigame Paradise – (Free) This cute minigame collection from Com2uS is available free for the first time since its August debut.

Pix'n Love Rush – (Free) This fantastic fast-paced platformer has been available since June 2010, with a steady $0.99 price tag. This is the first (and quite likely only) time the app will be available for free, so don't miss it! If you needed any additional motivation, we named this the #11 game on the entire App Store.

Blokus – (Free) Excellent competitive multiplayer puzzler Blokus is also available for free for the first time today. Don't miss it!

Updates

Doodle Jump Celebrate Easter... Doodle Jump-style! The ever-popular jumping title has been updated with new Easter obstacles, achievements, hidden Easter eggs and more.

Loading... Justin is Editor of IGN Wireless. He has been reviewing cell phone games since the dark days of Java flip phones. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN.